GRAVITOMAGNETIC TIME DILATION AS A DIRECT TEST OF MOMENTUM-COHERENT FRAME-DRAGGING IN DISK GALAXIES

The Momentum in Inertial/Non-Inertial Dynamics (MIND) framework attributes flat galaxy rotation curves to collective gravitomagnetic frame-dragging sustained by coherent momentum organization in galactic disks, rather than to dark matter halos or modified gravity. If this interpretation is correct, it carries an inescapable consequence that has not been previously identified or tested: a systematic gravitomagnetic time dilation between stars embedded in the dragged equatorial disk and stars in the kinematically distinct galactic halo. We derive the scale of this prediction from the gravitoelectromagnetic framework and the local metric requirements established in the Q7 analysis program. For a disk galaxy with flat rotation velocity , the frame-dragging velocity in the equatorial plane is . A clock co-moving with the dragged frame (disk star) runs at a different rate than a clock outside the dragged frame (halo star) at the same galactocentric distance. The resulting differential gravitomagnetic redshift scale is: For the Milky Way ( km/s): , corresponding to a velocity-equivalent shift of approximately 50–80 m/s — well within the precision of current spectroscopic surveys (Gaia RVS: ~200 m/s; APOGEE: ~100 m/s; future 4MOST/WEAVE: ~1 km/s systematic, <100 m/s differential). This prediction is unique to MIND. Dark matter halos produce no gravitomagnetic time dilation (they do not rotate coherently). MOND does not predict frame-dragging (it modifies the force law, not the metric). Classical Lense-Thirring frame-dragging from baryonic mass alone predicts a signal times smaller than the MIND prediction. The measurement requires comparing the mean radial velocity of disk stars to halo stars at matched galactocentric radius, after subtracting the known kinematic differences (asymmetric drift, streaming motions, solar reflex). A residual systematic offset of ~50–80 m/s in the disk population, absent in the halo, would constitute direct evidence of gravitomagnetic frame-dragging at galactic scales. A null result at the 10 m/s level (well below the predicted ~50–80 m/s scale) would exclude MIND Dragging as the mechanism sustaining flat rotation curves, providing a clean falsification criterion. The data exist today. The prediction is made. The next step belongs to the observers. Keywords: Gravitomagnetic time dilation, frame-dragging, galaxy rotation curves, MIND framework, dark matter alternative, MOND alternative, Gaia DR3, APOGEE, spectroscopic surveys, falsifiable prediction, general relativity, gravitoelectromagnetism, momentum coherence, Lense-Thirring effect, Galactic dynamics, stellar kinematics, Q7 analysis program.